Gabriel Jesus Manchester City
Eddie Nketiah has revealed that he has been in contact with Gabriel Jesus after he sustained a serious knee injury. The 25-year-old underwent surgery earlier this week after sustaining medial ligament damage during Brazil’s 1-0 World Cup defeat to Cameroon. Reports have suggested that this could rule him out for as much as three months, presenting a potentially devastating blow to Arsenal’s title hopes.
Eddie Nketiah said: “I spoke to him and wished him a speedy recovery. It is never nice to see anyone miss a World Cup and also for us as a team he is a big player, we are going to miss him. We are all behind him.”
Mikel Arteta was reluctant to offer a timescale on when Jesus will return when asked after the game on Thursday, but regardless of how long he is out for it appears that Nketiah is now set to get an opportunity in the first team. The 23-year-old is yet to start a Premier League game this season, but revealed that he is ready to step up now that the team need him.
Eddie Nketiah said: “Of course, it is an opportunity for myself. These things happen in football unfortunately so you’ve just got to be ready for the moment when it comes. I have been working hard, I’ve been working hard all season and I’m sure when I get the opportunity I’ll be able to come in and help the team.”
Early signs suggest that Nketiah is well placed to do this after he netted in the 3-0 victory over Lyon. It was part of an impressive all-round performance by the Gunners who took Lyon apart with consummate ease in the first half before introducing a host of youngsters in the second. Perhaps the most noteworthy part of the victory was the tempo with which Arsenal played. For Nketiah this is just a sign of things to come given what he’s seen since his teammates returned from their World Cup break.
Eddie Nketiah said: “We had really good momentum going before. You can look at the break in two ways, it could be time for us to improve and get even stronger. It would have been nice to keep it going but everyone looks sharp and refreshed and the boys who have gone to the World Cup are doing well. When they join us we’ll come together and I’m sure we’ll kick on again and get even better. The mentality has been top from the beginning. The manager has instilled that in us and all the boys have belief and work hard every day. It is good to be in a great position, we’re hungry to do well. Each win brings more confidence. If we keep going and working hard the way we have over the first half of the season it will do us well for the second half of the season.”
